Teen Toting BB Gun in Armed Robbery Shot by Would-be Victim

Oh look! Yet another reason to not buy anything on Craig’s List or off the classifieds AND to always carry!

In Massachusetts on Friday, a Brockton teenager tried to commit an armed robbery of a man who was responding to his online ad.

Unfortunately for him, while he was toting a BB gun, the guy who responded was armed with a real handgun.

Police say that’s exactly what happened on Washburn Street about 2:58 p.m., when a 15-year-old Brockton man and 31-year-old Pepperell man met up to complete a transaction to complete the online sale of a dirt bike.

“The victim in the case was lured here from the North Shore and he was attempting to purchase a dirt bike,” Brockton police Lt. Kenneth LeGrice told The Enterprise Saturday morning.

The two began texting each other about a dirt bike, which the supposed seller was offering for $700, LeGrice said.

“The party he was texting with apparently tried to rob him of his cash with what was believed to be a gun, but turned out to be a BB gun,” LeGrice said.

A struggle then ensued over the BB gun.

“They were fighting over the BB gun and, at that point, the victim in the case pulled out a real gun and fired three times,” LeGrice said.

The man reached into his white pickup truck, pulled out a 9-millimeter handgun and fired at the teenager three times, striking him once, LeGrice said.

The teenager then ran down Washburn Street toward Larch Street and collapsed in front of 757 Ash St., as a result of the injury, LeGrice said.

The 15-year-old Brockton man, who police did not identify because he’s a juvenile, will be charged with armed robbery while masked.

“At this point, the investigation is continuing, but no charges have been filed against the victim,” LeGrice said.

The shooter, whose identity The Enterprise is withholding as he’s believed to be the victim in the case, said he wasn’t ready to talk about the incident when reached by phone Saturday morning.

Police say the Pepperell man is licensed to carry a firearm.

The teenager’s condition wasn’t available Saturday morning, but LeGrice said he is expected to survive.

The incident unfolded in front of 16 Washburn St., where police later found three shell casings in the road.

Susie Ciulla-Hall, who lives near where the shooting occurred, told The Enterprise Friday afternoon that she was relieved her family was safe.

Had she hit any traffic on her way home, she and her five children may have been caught in the line of fire. Ciulla-Hall and her children had just arrived home and went inside when the gunfire erupted – and her SUV’s windshield was struck once.

“I heard the gunshots. I saw a kid go running up the street with a mask on his face,” she said. “We just walked in the house. Thank God we just got in. My kids are always outside playing and it’s a Friday.”

The shooting occurred not far from both Brockton High School and the Kennedy School.

Born and raised in northern rural Wisconsin, she is an avid outdoors woman, target and skeet shooter, Second Amendment supporter and defender, concealed carry advocate, NRA member and frequent guest on the NRATV News programs Cam&Co and CNLive.
Jenn is a wife and mother, former private detective, active in WI politics, and an outspoken conservative gun owner. Her personal blog can be found on jennjacques.com and you can follow her on Twitter at @JennJacques.